Hydrochloric Acid → Ethyl 2-(4-benzyloxyphenyl)cyanoacetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

The 4-benzyloxybenzyl cyanide from step (450a)(3.2 g, 14.33 mmol), sodium ethoxide (1.07 g, 15.7 mmol), and diethyl carbonate (2.23 g, 18.9 mmol) were combined in toluene (100 mL), heated to reflux for 3 h, cooled to rt, and partioned between ethyl acetate and 1 N HCl. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo. The crude was purified by chromatography on silica gel eluting hexane:ethyl acetate (80:20, v:v) to give ethyl 2-(4-benzyloxyphenyl)cyanoacetate (4.2 g, 99%) as an oil. MS (M+NH4)+=313.

Provenance & Evidence